… Stoops and Brown both brought in officials this offseason to explain the rule change. For example, pass rushers can continue to rush the pocket without a helmet if they’re engaged with an offensive lineman, but if a passer escapes the pocket or steps up to run, players must stop. If not, they can be flagged for 15-yard penalties.

“I’m not for that. Any rule that gives the officials or makes the officials have judgment calls is a bad rule because it’s not fair to them either,” Gundy said. “Judgment calls make it difficult, and so you always want to take judgment calls out of their hands.”

Anybody else thinking Jarvis Jones here? Or Marc Curles?

I’m all for player safety, but this one’s gonna be a bitch to enforce consistently.

9 responses to “Officials and judgment calls – hey, what could go wrong?”

It’s the worst rule I’ve ever heard of and I don’t understand it any better than when it first was proposed. Rules aren’t formulated so that refs can conjure up when to apply and what constitutes breaking the rule if it is tenuously constructed for interpretation in the first place. It will not last and will be nothing but controversial. It is a bad rule and if we get another like it at the same time, it will stop college football.

Other players’s ability to subtlely unsnap Jarvis’s chin strap will render his play benign to opposing teams. Are the penalties in this play aimed toward any player who would deliberately expose his head to concussion during a play? Where is the penalty for an imposing player to unsnap it on purpose? If it is for accidental occurrence, what will penalties do to correct accidents? Either way, the rule is bad enough without placing an “interpretation” tag on it.

Isn’t enforcement of any rule a judgement call? I mean, refs could call holding on EVERY PLAY, yet they don’t. Cops could ticket every speeder that goes 1 MPH over the speed limit, yet they don’t.

I agree with Hogbody in that smart QB’s will be able to pick up on this. Just like how we get five free yards when Greene, Stafford, and Murray hike the ball attempting to catch a defensive lineman offsides when he crosses the neutral zone attempting to guess the snap count. I think this could be just another tool in the belt for QB’s. It might actually work out well for us!

If you’re gonna have a rule about headgear at all how about when any player’s headgear comes off all play stops. If the headgear came off by the player’s own act or his own teammate’s act, his team gets charged with a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty.

This looks like another one of those things dreamed up by someone without enough to do. Like “celebrating” and “jumping on defense during a field goal attempt”, it will only be enforced when the refs have an agenda.
How about calling offsides on the kicking team on kickoffs? I watch this closely and it happens on virtually every kickoff….but when did it get called?
As far as the “unsnapping” of the chinstraps, that should be easy enough to fix with a little inventiveness..
But what if the offensive player’s helmet comes off? Or shoe? Does he have to quit running? quit blocking?….It’s all stupid. These guys are just like congress, passing more and more laws and regulations all of the time. They won’t be happy untill there’s a penalty on every play. Just like congress, they should be required to repeal two laws before they pass a new one.

Anyone remember the tackle Earl Everett of Florida made on Troy Smith in the 2006 National Title game? Earl had no helmet when he ran downfield and made the tackle on Smith. Under these rules, this would be illegal

Bloviation for the Dawgnation

Quote Of The Day

“I didn’t know I got criticism,” Richt quipped, feigning incredulousness. “It’s just the nature of the beast. If you can’t take criticism, then you shouldn’t coach.” -- AJ-C, 7/21/15